Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Artful \Art"ful\, a. [From {Art}.]
   1. Performed with, or characterized by, art or skill.
      [Archaic] ``Artful strains.'' ``Artful terms.'' --Milton.

   2. Artificial; imitative. --Addison.

   3. Using or exhibiting much art, skill, or contrivance;
      dexterous; skillful.

            He [was] too artful a writer to set down events in
            exact historical order.               --Dryden.

   4. Cunning; disposed to cunning indirectness of dealing;
      crafty; as, an artful boy. [The usual sense.]

            Artful in speech, in action, and in mind. --Pope.

            The artful revenge of various animals. --Darwin.

   Syn: Cunning; skillful; adroit; dexterous; crafty; tricky;
        deceitful; designing. See {Cunning}.

Source : WordNet®

artful
     adj 1: not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of
            frankness; "an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine,
            and hypocritical operator, who...exemplified...the
            most disagreeable traits of his time"- David
            Cannadine; "a disingenuous excuse" [syn: {disingenuous}]
            [ant: {ingenuous}]
     2: marked by skill in achieving a desired end especially with
        cunning or craft; "the artful dodger"; "an artful choice
        of metaphors" [ant: {artless}]